Comments on: Desire2Learn and Blackboard Technology Tutorials for the Patent Case http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/ What Michael Feldstein Is Learning About Online Learning...Online Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:21:30 +0000 By: Michael Feldstein http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-8365 Michael Feldstein Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:20:22 +0000 http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-8365 According to D2L's warning, Blackboard's presentation was provided to the court on CD-ROM and is optimized for that delivery mode. Blackboard gave D2L permission to post the presentation for general viewing on the web but did not create it for that purpose and did not assist D2L in optimizing it for that purpose. As a result, it plays poorly on the web. <br /><br />Whether Blackboard is smart to let the public presentation of their case be marred by a poor viewing experience is another question.<br /> According to D2L’s warning, Blackboard’s presentation was provided to the court on CD-ROM and is optimized for that delivery mode. Blackboard gave D2L permission to post the presentation for general viewing on the web but did not create it for that purpose and did not assist D2L in optimizing it for that purpose. As a result, it plays poorly on the web.

Whether Blackboard is smart to let the public presentation of their case be marred by a poor viewing experience is another question.

]]> By: barry.b http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-8361 barry.b Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:13:57 +0000 http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-8361 Why are BB having so much grief with their presentation? In the right hands doing this in Flash is not hard.if it were me I'd actually outsource making the presentation, just to get it 100% right. There's a lot at stake here.Are BB too cheap to do so? rely on inhouse Flash skills that are clearly not quite there yet? Why are BB having so much grief with their presentation? In the right hands doing this in Flash is not hard.if it were me I’d actually outsource making the presentation, just to get it 100% right. There’s a lot at stake here.Are BB too cheap to do so? rely on inhouse Flash skills that are clearly not quite there yet?

]]> By: Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4 » links for 2007-07-04 http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-7759 Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4 » links for 2007-07-04 Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:45:09 +0000 http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-7759 [...] Desire2Learn and Blackboard Technology Tutorials for the Patent Case at e-Literate (tags: blackboard D2L patents Blackboard_patent) [...] [...] Desire2Learn and Blackboard Technology Tutorials for the Patent Case at e-Literate (tags: blackboard D2L patents Blackboard_patent) [...]

]]> By: Michael Feldstein http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-7426 Michael Feldstein Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:01:37 +0000 http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-7426 On the subject of the Bb video, try hitting the "Go Back 5 Seconds" button to get the audio to start.<br /><br />As you point out, D2L is claiming both that the patent isn't valid and that, even if it is, they don't infringe. This is a pretty typical argument. The Markman hearing, which these presentations were designed to prepare for, will determine the scope of the patent. If the judge decides that the patent only covers systems with pre-defined roles then D2L has a stronger case for non-infringement.<br /> On the subject of the Bb video, try hitting the "Go Back 5 Seconds" button to get the audio to start.

As you point out, D2L is claiming both that the patent isn’t valid and that, even if it is, they don’t infringe. This is a pretty typical argument. The Markman hearing, which these presentations were designed to prepare for, will determine the scope of the patent. If the judge decides that the patent only covers systems with pre-defined roles then D2L has a stronger case for non-infringement.

]]> By: Scott Leslie http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-7424 Scott Leslie Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:38:42 +0000 http://mfeldstein.com/desire2learn-and-blackboard-technology-tutorials-for-the-patent-case/#comment-7424 It is unfortunate about the BB video; try as I might I couldn't get any audio, and the slides did not seem to advance automatically  so I am unsure how much of their presentation I actually saw. While a patent based on *any* sort of RBAC in regards to CMS still seems, well, patently obvious to begin with, if, as D2L asserts, this case hinges on the assertion of "predetermined roles with predefined characteristics" then hopefully the judge will get what many of us got when we first saw D2L hit the market; that at the time it represented a step forward from both Blackboard and WebCT precisely because it did <strong>not</strong> dictate predetermined roles but instead allowed the administrator to fashion new ones on a tool by tool and function by function basis. I remember seeing this very clearly when I first reviewed D2L in early 2002 and thinking, wow, this isn't just some jerry-rigged PERL code, these guys have built a sophisticated user and permissions model from the ground up. It is unfortunate about the BB video; try as I might I couldn’t get any audio, and the slides did not seem to advance automatically  so I am unsure how much of their presentation I actually saw. While a patent based on *any* sort of RBAC in regards to CMS still seems, well, patently obvious to begin with, if, as D2L asserts, this case hinges on the assertion of "predetermined roles with predefined characteristics" then hopefully the judge will get what many of us got when we first saw D2L hit the market; that at the time it represented a step forward from both Blackboard and WebCT precisely because it did not dictate predetermined roles but instead allowed the administrator to fashion new ones on a tool by tool and function by function basis. I remember seeing this very clearly when I first reviewed D2L in early 2002 and thinking, wow, this isn’t just some jerry-rigged PERL code, these guys have built a sophisticated user and permissions model from the ground up.

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